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A lovely looking pram, just didn't really suit my needs.

When I first found out I was pregnant with my daughter this was the pram I had my heart set on. I was worried about space however, and ended up buying the pliko pramette instead. Unfortunately for my partner, I developed a bit of a "thing" for prams and ended up purchasing the Ultima second hand from Ebay soon after my daughter was born.

The thing that drew me to the pram was the carrycot. I purchased a new sleep safe mattress for it, as it meant if we stayed on a bit later at friend's or relative's houses that she could sleep in it safely for a longer period of time than what I would have been comfortable with had she been in the pliko pramette. It was also quite spacious, I would say quite a bit roomier than a moses basket. There are also handles zipped in to the side of the carrycot, but I never used these as it's not advisable to carry cots by the handles when you have a wee one in it, and there didn't seem much point in carrying it about empty.

I found it extremely easy to attach the carrycot to the chassis. There are two concealed button type things on each of the carrycot, and you have to push them at the same time to remove it from the chassis. When placing it back on the chassis you hear it click in to place.

There is also a little handle at the back of the carrycot which allows you to adjust the angle of the mattress, so that baby can be a bit more upright, which could be helpful for young babies with reflux.

The apron and hood are removable, the hood is also used on the seat unit.

I loved using the carrycot part of the pram, and always got lots of compliments when out with baby.

I wasn't as keen on the seat unit part of the pram. I think by the time my daughter was old enough to go into it the novelty of the "big pram" had worn off slightly, and I was beginning to find the pram a bit of a pain, as it has to be taken apart to fold it up. And it is a bit of a nightmare trying to fit it in the car along with any shopping. However the times that we did use it, my daughter was comfortable and well supported. The hood from the carrycot is also the hood for the seat unit, and can be swapped over with not much effort required. The seat unit comes with an apron, you can also purchase a cosier footmuff from Mamas & Papas but I think that baby would be warm enough with a few blankets under the apron. The seat has quite a few recline positions and an adjustable foot rest, so it can lie flat and would be suitable for a newborn.

Mamas & Papas sell two different chassis to go with this pram and the one I purchased was the MPX chassis. The main difference between the two of them is the fact that the MPX chassis has swivel wheels. The other chassis (classic) has fixed wheels and a flat tray underneath for storage, in comparison the the material basket underneath the MPX. I have never used the Classic chassis, but I can only guess it would make getting about a lot more difficult than with the MPX.

The car seat can also be used on the chassis, but as I don't really agree with babies sitting in carseats for too long, I didn't use this, so can't really comment.

I think this pram would be perfect for someone who does a lot of walking, and doesn't need to fold it down often for the car or for public transport. I have used the pram on buses before and found it to fit into the buggy bays fine, but if you needed to fold it I think it'd be pretty much impossible to manage both parts of the pram whilst holding baby and possible shopping too.

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A proper pram

I acually have the Ultima 8 in 1 but the only things I have extra to the 3 in 1 is a car seat and a surefix stand.

When we started looking at prams I knew i wanted one to look like a proper pram. I didnt want a 3 wheeler or one of these that looks like a hairdressers tool trolley. And I knew I wanted M&P I am a big fan of their products.

Originally we decided on the Pliko pramette, and then we saw this. The carrycot won me over I loved the way it looked on the chassis and thought it looked lovely and cosy for a newborn baby being born in december. So we ordered it in Balmain which is a really lovely fabric.

Our first trip out with the pram was when our daughter was 4 days old, we went to tesco. We had to take the carrycot off the chasis to get it in the car, we drive a vectra, which we were a bit annoyed with. After doing this everytime we went out however we got used to it and I was thankful I hadn't chosen the Xcel chassis.

She's 8 months now and is in the forward facing part of the pram whic his great, but I prefer the carrycot part.

I have since bought a lightweight pushchair (the M&P Nipi) for our holidays and use this more than the Ultima.